Boards made of polyvinyl chloride foam, polyurethane and other plastic foams are often used for decking and non-load bearing exterior trim applications such as beadboard, porch ceilings, door trim, window trim, or fascia and are also used in numerous other trim applications. Such foam trim board products typically have the look and function of premium lumber. Foam trim boards can be cut and shaped using regular woodworking tools.
Foam boards are often cut from large sheets of foam material. The formed sheets have a smooth outer surface, or skin. However, when the sheets of foam are cut to form foam boards, the cut edges of each board do not have a smooth surface but have a cellular structure. The cut edges of the boards are noticeably different from the faces of the boards and pick-up dirt more readily. If the cells are quite small and the board is painted, the differences between the cut edges and the faces are less noticeable. However, builders often prefer to use foam trim boards in applications where the boards were not painted. Consequently, there is a need for a foam board which can be cut from foam sheets and have smooth edges.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,751 discloses a decorative plastic trim strip used in automobiles. The strips are made of thermoplastic material. The cut ends of the strips are reshaped by a heated mold that is pressed against the end portion of the trim strip to create a smooth end. However, the use of such a mold slows the manufacturing process by requiring each cut board to be pressed within a mold after cutting of the boards. Moreover, the mold reshapes the cut edges of a product to have a curved end or tapered end. While molds may be useful for creating a smooth end on the end of a strip that is a few inches in width, it is not practical to use a mold to seal an edge that is six to twelve feet in length.
Further, such molding of the ends of trim pieces often creates flashing, which is plastic that extends from the edges of a trim piece after the piece has been formed. Such flashing detracts from the aesthetic effect of the trim piece and may also create installation problems. Hence, the flashing typically must be removed from a piece of trim prior to selling or using the trim piece.
A device and method are needed that can provide a skin or seal to the cut edges of foam boards. The sealed edge must be evenly sealed so that the sealed edge has little to no ability to trap dirt, unlike a non-sealed edge which has an overwhelming ability or tendency to trap dirt. The device and method preferably seal the cut edges to provide an edge having the same look and feel as the surface of the uncut portions of a foam board so each foam board has a consistent appearance. The device and method also preferably reduce, if not eliminate, the formation of flashing that may occur in sealing the cut edges of a foam board.